Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 21, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how CrystalMeanings.org (the “Site,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) handles information when you visit the Site, leave a comment, contact us, or buy a digital product. Some processing is needed to run the Site, fulfill an order, protect it from abuse, or meet legal obligations. Optional analytics is handled according to your region and preferences: in regions that require prior consent, analytics stays off until you accept; elsewhere, analytics may run unless you reject or customise it.
Information we collect
Information you provide
When you leave a comment, we collect the information shown in the comment form, along with your IP address and browser user-agent string to help detect spam.
For digital-product orders, we collect the information needed to process the purchase and provide access to the files, such as your name, billing information, email address, order record, and download-entitlement history.
If you contact us by email or through a form, we receive the information in your message and use it to respond. Ebooks are digital products; we do not collect delivery details for physical goods.
Information collected automatically
Our hosting and content-delivery infrastructure may process request information such as IP address, requested URL, browser or user-agent information, referrer, date and time, and data transferred. This helps deliver the Site, maintain security, and diagnose service problems.
When Analytics is allowed by your region settings or your consent choice, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Ahrefs Web Analytics may process page, device, browser, interaction, approximate-location, and ebook-store information as described below. Google Analytics and Clarity may use cookies or pseudonymous identifiers; Ahrefs Web Analytics is configured as a cookie-free service.
When you comment using an email address, a hash made from that address may be sent to Gravatar to check whether you use that service. If you do, your profile image may appear with your comment. See Automattic’s Privacy Policy.
How we use information
We use information to operate the Site, publish and moderate comments, process digital-product orders, provide file access, answer messages, prevent fraud and abuse, secure and troubleshoot the Site, and comply with applicable obligations. Where you choose to allow Analytics, we also use the resulting information to understand site use and improve content, the ebook store, and usability.
Services and providers
The table identifies the current providers that receive information when they perform the functions described here. Their handling of that information is also governed by their own privacy statements.
| Service | Purpose and information | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 | When Analytics is allowed by your region settings or consent choice, it measures site and ebook-store use. It may use first-party identifiers such as _ga and _ga_<measurement-id>, and receive page, device, browser, interaction, approximate-location, ecommerce, transaction, refund, payment-failure category, and authorized-download event data. | Google Analytics and partner sites |
| Microsoft Clarity | When Analytics is allowed by your region settings or consent choice, Clarity provides session recordings, heatmaps, and usability analysis. It may process interaction data, DOM or playback information, session information, cookies or pseudonymous identifiers, and masked input data. | Microsoft Privacy Statement |
| Ahrefs Web Analytics | When Analytics is allowed by your region settings or consent choice, Ahrefs provides aggregate traffic and interaction reports. It receives page URL, referrer, user-agent and language information, and common interactions such as page views, link clicks, and form submissions. Ahrefs states that its default service uses no cookies or persistent identifiers; it uses IP address and user-agent information to derive location and a daily visitor hash, then discards the raw IP address. | About Ahrefs Web Analytics |
| Stripe | Stripe is our current payment processor for ebooks. It handles card details for payment processing; card details are not handled by CrystalMeanings.org. We receive the order and payment-status information needed to provide the purchase and keep transaction records. | Stripe Privacy Center |
| BunnyCDN | BunnyCDN delivers cached Site assets and processes essential content-delivery request logs, which may include IP address, requested URL, user-agent information, timestamp, and data transferred. This infrastructure processing does not depend on an optional cookie category. | Bunny.net Privacy Policy |
| Gravatar | Gravatar may receive a hash of a commenter’s email address to display an associated avatar. | Automattic Privacy Policy |
Google Analytics and ebook events
Our Site Kit and CookieYes consent configuration uses region-based Google Consent Mode defaults. For the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other strict consent regions we configure Analytics storage as denied until you accept. For other regions, Analytics storage may be granted by default so that we can measure site performance and ebook-store reliability, but you can reject or withdraw optional Analytics at any time. Advertising storage and personalized advertising signals remain denied because advertising cookies are not currently enabled. Page code can place ebook product, cart, and checkout details in a temporary in-page data layer, but ebook event tags only transmit according to the active Analytics consent state. Necessary consent and security functions remain available.
For ebook analytics, browser events may describe product impressions, selections, cart and checkout steps. After a consented order, our server may send purchase, refund, categorized payment-failure, and authorized file-download events to Google Analytics using the Measurement Protocol. These Analytics events do not include your name, email address, billing address, card details, download token, raw payment error, or server file path.
Those server event names are purchase, refund, payment_failed, and file_download. The payment-failure event carries a category rather than a raw payment error, and the file-download event is sent only for an authorized download.
The server sends these events only when it has an Analytics-consent snapshot and valid pseudonymous Google Analytics identifiers.
Google Analytics cookies and ebook analytics are optional. You can refuse them through Consent Preferences, withdraw consent later, or use Google’s available Analytics controls. Withdrawal stops new consented browser events and prevents later orders from saving a granted Analytics-consent snapshot. It does not automatically change a snapshot already stored with an earlier order, so a later refund or authorized download for that order may still produce an order-linked Analytics event. Contact us if you want us to stop future order-linked analytics where we can verify and apply the request. Google may continue to receive denied-consent signals and measurements without cookies through Consent Mode.
Microsoft Clarity
Microsoft Clarity is optional and loads only when Analytics is allowed by your region settings or consent choice. It helps us review session recordings and heatmaps to understand how people use the Site. If you withdraw Analytics consent after Clarity has loaded, we send Clarity a denied consent signal and reload the page so the consent-gated tag is no longer present. The Site will not load Clarity again unless Analytics is allowed.
Ahrefs Web Analytics is also optional and loads only when Analytics is allowed by your region settings or consent choice. If you withdraw consent after it has loaded, the Site reloads the page and does not load the Ahrefs tag again unless Analytics is allowed.
Cookies, similar technologies, and consent
Necessary cookies support core site and consent functions. Optional Analytics cookies and tracking from Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Ahrefs Web Analytics follow region-based defaults: strict consent regions are opt-in, while other regions may be opt-out. Google Consent Mode may transmit consent-state signals and measurements as described above. You can accept all, reject non-essential cookies, or choose your preferences through the Site’s Consent Preferences control.
You may change or withdraw your choice at any time through Consent Preferences. Withdrawal applies going forward and stops future optional processing. You can also manage cookies in your browser, although removing necessary cookies can affect the way the Site works.
Advertising
Advertising cookies and personalized advertising are not currently enabled on the Site. If we introduce advertising, we will update this policy and the consent settings before using advertising cookies or personalized advertising.
Embedded content and media
Articles may include embedded content, such as videos or images. Embedded content from another website behaves as though you visited that website directly, and that provider may collect information or use cookies under its own policy. If you upload an image, avoid including embedded location data because visitors may be able to extract it.
How we share information
We share information with the providers described above when needed for their services. We may also disclose information when required by law or when reasonably necessary to protect the Site, our users, or others from fraud, abuse, or security threats. Comments, display names, and avatars that you choose to make public may be visible to other visitors and search engines.
How long we retain information
Comments and their metadata may remain on the Site so that follow-up comments can be recognized and moderated. We retain order, entitlement, correspondence, security, and technical records for as long as reasonably needed for the purpose described here, including accounting, tax, dispute, security, and legal requirements. Provider and infrastructure logs are retained under the relevant provider’s or system’s configuration. Backups and caches can retain deleted information for a limited period.
Your privacy rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to ask for access to, correction, deletion, restriction of, objection to, or portability of your personal information. You may withdraw consent for optional processing at any time through Consent Preferences. Withdrawal applies to new browser processing and new order consent snapshots. For an earlier order snapshot or another request that cannot be handled by the browser control alone, contact us so we can verify and apply the request, subject to any processing we must continue for legal, security, or transaction purposes.
To make a request, contact [email protected] or use our contact page. We may need to verify a request before responding.
Do Not Sell or Share
If you wish to submit a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” request under an applicable law, use the link in the Site footer or contact [email protected]. You can also reject optional categories through Consent Preferences.
Children’s privacy
The Site is not directed to children under 13, or the applicable minimum age in your jurisdiction, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us so that we can delete it where appropriate.
International transfers
Our providers may process information in countries other than the one where you live. Where applicable law requires it, we use the transfer safeguards available for the relevant processing. Provider privacy statements explain their own international processing practices.
Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect information from unauthorized access, alteration, loss, or misuse. No internet service can guarantee absolute security.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our practices or legal requirements change. The revised date will appear at the top of this page. If a change requires a new consent choice, we will request it before applying the optional processing.
Contact
For questions about this Privacy Policy or privacy requests, email [email protected] or use our contact page.